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        SAMOVAR 
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  • Questions and answers. FAQ
  User manual    

Questions and answers. FAQ

 
 
 
 
 
 
I do not have a thermowell for the steam sensor. What should I do? Can I go without this sensor?
Samovar needs the readings of the column section and steam sensors to work. You can do this:
1st method. Install one sensor 15-20 cm from the top edge of the packed column section and use it as the steam sensor. Install the second, lower sensor at least 30 cm below the upper one, or, for a short column section, at 2/3 of the column height.
2nd method. Install only the lower sensor. On the Temperature («Температура») tab, select it as the column section sensor. Select the same sensor as the steam sensor. For visual comfort, correct its readings to 1-2 degrees above the column section sensor, and set the overshoot beyond the setpoint to more than that of the column section sensor.
 
 
 
What is 2/3 of the column height? Where is that?
This refers only to the height of the part of the column that contains packing. Empty space at the top or bottom is not counted. Take a tape measure and measure the height the packing occupies in the column. Divide it by 3. Two parts from the top is the 2/3. Or one part from the bottom. This is a recommendation. But you can install the column section temperature sensor according to your preferences or the configuration of your equipment.
 
Where should the reflux level sensor be installed?
As a standard, the level sensor is installed directly on the sight glass, 5-7 mm from the lower edge of the glass. The sensor must be adjusted. After the column reaches stabilization mode and the sight glass has warmed up, set the trigger threshold.
 
What is a setpoint?
A trigger setpoint is the value of the controlled process variable set in the regulator, upon reaching which the regulator takes action. In other words: the permissible "overshoot of the actual value" beyond the set value at which the system stays at rest.
 
The column is assembled and the sensors are under the insulation. How do I find out which sensor has which address?
It is not difficult. First, from the drop-down menu, choose different sensor addresses for each installation location. Any ones, but all different.
Then we see which of the sensors is accessible. Say, Water: we warm it with a hand or lightly with a hair dryer. We look at the main page. The temperature of one of the sensors starts to rise. Say it is Steam. We go to the Temperature («Температура») tab and swap the addresses of the Water and Steam sensors.
The next sensor is the TCA. We do the same. We swap the TCA with the one whose temperature started to rise. Two sensors are set up.
The rest cannot be reached under the insulation. No problem. We pour the low wines into the boiler and get ready for the run.
Ready? We turn on the boost. The Boiler sensor will start heating first, but your Steam sensor is rising again. We swap the addresses. And so on. The next sensor will be the Column section, and finally Steam. All the sensors are in their places, and we continue the run.
Warning. Make sure that addresses are not duplicated when you choose them. Samovar does not check this. The sensor address at each installation location must be unique.
Warning. The settings of setpoints, overshoots, temperatures, etc. do not move together with the sensor address; they belong to the specific installation location.
 
How do I calibrate the sensors and remove errors?
This is done by entering values in the "Correction" («Корректировка») field. We should say right away that absolutely exact actual temperature values are not needed. If someone's steam temperature is 77 and yours is 75, it does not matter much. But let us return to calibration.
     The most accurate way is to calibrate all the sensors at the same time, at a temperature close to the one at which they will work.
You can place all the sensors in boiling water and set the temperature to 99 for all of them.
But not all sensors can be put in water. You can put them in an empty vessel and set it in a water bath. The temperature at the bottom will be close to 99.
It is easier to calibrate the sensors relative to each other.
For example, in winter, put them on a radiator, cover them, and when the temperatures settle, set one value for all of them. You can come up with quite a lot of options.
But what if the sensors are already under thermal insulation? You can lay all the parts of the column on a table, place the free sensors inside the column section, cover them with something dense and, after some time, calibrate them relative to each other.
 
 
 
The description of the beer mashing program mentions "different brewhouse systems". What is that?
A brewhouse system for beer production is special equipment for brewing wort. Brewhouse systems differ depending on the technological tasks. This article describes in detail the types of home brewhouse systems and how they work.
 
Which devices and sensors can Samovar detect as present or absent?
Sensors and actuators whose presence Samovar does not check, because there is no feedback:
 
Sensors and actuators whose presence Samovar does check, if:
 
How to use the bypass control valve
You will need two taps, two valves and two tees.
One valve is NC (normally closed) and the other can be either NC or NO (normally open); NC is preferable. The layout  is as follows:
Supply line - first valve - this is the main valve that will open the water supply for cooling.
Next - a tee - both taps are attached to the tee. One of them (usually a needle valve)  will be the main one and the other the additional one. After the additional tap comes another valve, then both lines join again through a tee,  into one, and the water is supplied to Samovar.
That is, a bypass line is set up around the main tap.
On the main tap we set the water flow so that the temperature at the dephlegmator outlet is 50°. Say it is 40 liters per hour. And with the additional tap we set 10 l/h. In the Samovar_ini.h file we comment out the line #define USE_WATER_PUMP and uncomment #define USE_WATER_VALVE (the pump and the valve cannot work at the same time).
How it works. When the boiler temperature reaches the configured threshold (77° by default), Samovar opens the main valve, and 40 l/h goes to cooling. If the water pressure drops, the temperature starts to rise, the additional valve opens and an extra 10 l/h goes to cooling. When the temperature returns to the set limit, the additional valve closes.